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Slapboxing with Jesus
Twelve original and interconnected stories in the traditions of Junot Díaz and Sherman Alexie. Victor D. LaValle's astonishing, violent, and funny debut offers harrowing glimpses at the vulnerable lives of young people who struggle not only to come of age, but to survive the city streets.
In "ancient history," two best friends graduating from high school fight to be the one to leave first for a better world; each one wants to be the fortunate son. In "pops," an African-American boy meets his father, a white cop from Connecticut, and tries not to care. And in "kids on colden street," a boy is momentarily uplifted by the arrival of a younger sister only to discover that brutality leads only to brutality in the natural order of things.
Written with raw candor, grit, and a cautious heart, slapboxing with jesus introduces an exciting and bold new craftsman of contemporary fiction. LaValle's voices echo long after their stories are told.
In "ancient history," two best friends graduating from high school fight to be the one to leave first for a better world; each one wants to be the fortunate son. In "pops," an African-American boy meets his father, a white cop from Connecticut, and tries not to care. And in "kids on colden street," a boy is momentarily uplifted by the arrival of a younger sister only to discover that brutality leads only to brutality in the natural order of things.
Written with raw candor, grit, and a cautious heart, slapboxing with jesus introduces an exciting and bold new craftsman of contemporary fiction. LaValle's voices echo long after their stories are told.
224 pages, Paperback
First published September 21, 1999
33 people are currently reading
1156 people want to read
About the author
Victor LaValle
136 books3,580 followersVictor LaValle is the author of the short story collection Slapboxing with Jesus, four novels, The Ecstatic, Big Machine, The Devil in Silver, and The Changeling and two novellas, Lucretia and the Kroons and The Ballad of Black Tom. He is also the creator and writer of a comic book Victor LaValle's DESTROYER.
He has been the recipient of numerous awards including a Whiting Writers' Award, a United States Artists Ford Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Shirley Jackson Award, an American Book Award, and the key to Southeast Queens.
He was raised in Queens, New York. He now lives in Washington Heights with his wife and kids. He teaches at Columbia University.
He can be kind of hard to reach, but he still loves you.
He has been the recipient of numerous awards including a Whiting Writers' Award, a United States Artists Ford Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Shirley Jackson Award, an American Book Award, and the key to Southeast Queens.
He was raised in Queens, New York. He now lives in Washington Heights with his wife and kids. He teaches at Columbia University.
He can be kind of hard to reach, but he still loves you.
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August 24, 2017This edition is signed by author Victor D. LaValle.
October 29, 2015
I wish I'd known about the short story collection SLAPBOXING WITH JESUS when I was teaching--I can think of thirty kids who would've loved it.
I first learned about #VictorLaValle when I recently read a testimonial he gave for NPR about Kenzaburo Oe's work. In the piece, he made a strong statement about Oe's writing and the ante it ups for other writers that made me want to read LaValle's own work to see if he himself was equal to the task. Here's the statement:
"[I]magine if Oe's courageous nakedness were universal. Black writers might stop making careers out of self-righteousness and white prejudice. White guys might stop hiding behind their encyclopedic knowledge and grapple with their lack of humility. Immigrant writers might stop moaning about how hard it was for their parents to become Americans. White women might finally cut their poor mothers a little slack.
In place of these shopworn scenarios, what if white folks wrote honestly about white racism? (Because I could do with a lot less about white racism from everyone else.) Imagine black writers addressing black cruelty and sanctimoniousness, or Asian writers really coming to terms with Asian materialism."
Well, I have discovered through SLAPBOXING WITH JESUS, the stories of which deal intimately, deeply, and creatively with the lives of kids in and around New York City, that LaValle IS in fact equal to that statement. NOT AN EASY TASK. I need to read more of his work
I first learned about #VictorLaValle when I recently read a testimonial he gave for NPR about Kenzaburo Oe's work. In the piece, he made a strong statement about Oe's writing and the ante it ups for other writers that made me want to read LaValle's own work to see if he himself was equal to the task. Here's the statement:
"[I]magine if Oe's courageous nakedness were universal. Black writers might stop making careers out of self-righteousness and white prejudice. White guys might stop hiding behind their encyclopedic knowledge and grapple with their lack of humility. Immigrant writers might stop moaning about how hard it was for their parents to become Americans. White women might finally cut their poor mothers a little slack.
In place of these shopworn scenarios, what if white folks wrote honestly about white racism? (Because I could do with a lot less about white racism from everyone else.) Imagine black writers addressing black cruelty and sanctimoniousness, or Asian writers really coming to terms with Asian materialism."
Well, I have discovered through SLAPBOXING WITH JESUS, the stories of which deal intimately, deeply, and creatively with the lives of kids in and around New York City, that LaValle IS in fact equal to that statement. NOT AN EASY TASK. I need to read more of his work
January 2, 2018
This book was just an utter delight to read.
July 13, 2008
I wish this collection was as much on people's minds as the more popular "Jesus's Son" by Denis Johnson. Together, the two paint the perfect picture of contemporary American male life. And this one is much more fun. Rhythm like you wouldn't believe and characters you know but have never read about before.
April 11, 2019
Days in the life of NY boys in the 80's. From the childhood age of 9 to 18 years old. Friends, the city, toxic masculinity, and just being a kid in the neighbor. An excellent read and a vivid point of view that accurately depicts the time ans place.
June 25, 2020
On a craft level, these stories are fantastic. Vibrant, visceral, funny and sad and moving sometimes at the same time.
But after having read LaValle's more recent work (BIG MACHINE and on), these don't quite... I don't know, they don't fit? I guess? They feel like, to the jacket copy's point, attempts to do what Sherman Alexie and Junot Diaz were doing, machismo and all. But I don't really want that, these days. It's a different world from 1999 and I'm glad to know that LaValle morphed and matured as a writer, coming into his own as a master of the strange, instead of walking down these well-worn alleys that don't quite hold up twenty years later.
But after having read LaValle's more recent work (BIG MACHINE and on), these don't quite... I don't know, they don't fit? I guess? They feel like, to the jacket copy's point, attempts to do what Sherman Alexie and Junot Diaz were doing, machismo and all. But I don't really want that, these days. It's a different world from 1999 and I'm glad to know that LaValle morphed and matured as a writer, coming into his own as a master of the strange, instead of walking down these well-worn alleys that don't quite hold up twenty years later.
August 16, 2020
A gut-wrenching and quietly powerful selection of stories exploring how poverty, racism, and generational devastation affect black masculinity: punishing emotional openness, prioritizing individual success. The way that LaValle writes is calm, plain; through this, using this, he creates beauty, terrible though such beauty may seem. Several particular stories stand out, and I greatly, GREATLY admire how LaValle tells so much about characters, their histories, and their spheres without constraining himself to many archetypal story 'structures.' Many of the stories end without typical resolution. The resolution is itself the story. Given the trajectory, we can see how it will most likely end years down the line.
Where the collection failed for me is in its treatment of black women, all of whom are sexual objects, nags, sisters, women who are presented to the reader as without dreams of their own or lives of their own. They exist in the shadows as pageantry to dress up the suffering of men.
I also understand why LaValle used homophobic slurs in the characters' dialogue, as it shows one of many ways in which emotional closeness and the intimacies of friendship are hyper-policed among men, but the lack of any gay or queer characters in the stories felt like a forgetting. Are gay men not also subjected to such cultural violence?
Where the collection failed for me is in its treatment of black women, all of whom are sexual objects, nags, sisters, women who are presented to the reader as without dreams of their own or lives of their own. They exist in the shadows as pageantry to dress up the suffering of men.
I also understand why LaValle used homophobic slurs in the characters' dialogue, as it shows one of many ways in which emotional closeness and the intimacies of friendship are hyper-policed among men, but the lack of any gay or queer characters in the stories felt like a forgetting. Are gay men not also subjected to such cultural violence?
September 25, 2025
Fun story I think about sex and both its direct and indirect consequences. You really get to see men and boys aren’t too far removed. Young boys see the adult men around them acting out of lust and just copy them down. Anyways, be safe and use protection :p
April 9, 2018
good for what it was: not my cup of tea
June 23, 2017
Ohwowohwowsoooogoooood!
September 26, 2025
Victor LaValle's debut short story collection is sadly quite embarrassing. The telltale lunges of a young "tough guy" writer who desperately wants to "matter," but who only ends up doing a significant disservice to the gritty people of Brooklyn and the Bronx whom LaValle hopes to chronicle. You're much better off with THE DEVIL IN SILVER, which shows a far greater descriptive command of the down-and-out milieu that LaValle is trying to depict. LaValle has talent as a writer, but you're not going to find it here. The other problem with LaValle is that he's so inherently humorless and really needed to chill the hell out. I mean, consider the ridiculous swagger that opens "Pops": "My father was eating pizza across from me, sucking in cheese and smiling like we were family." I've seen plenty of gerund-fueled bad "I have lived motherfucker!" writing like this before. But it's a bit of a shock to see it coming from someone who would turn out to be as accomplished as LaValle, who would thankfully improve in later books.
March 13, 2010
I liked it. (But not enough to give it a 4) 3.5 out of 5.
LaValle's characters were about as real as fictional characters can possibly be. If they were any realer they would be walking around NYC wearing gaudy jewelry and dropping the "Killah" from their MC title.
This might just be me being naive but it seemed to me that LaValle went way out of his way to show the dark and ugly side of project living. I mean, WTF? Are you telling me that not all New Yorkers are as nice as Puffy and Rudy Giuliani seem to be on tv?
It was educational though. I now know, thanks to LaValle, that if I ever decide to approach a lady of the night in a dark alleyway, that I better have some protection on me. Sometimes, the best way to avoid these sort of things is to learn from a fictional character's mistake. Hey, better him than me, right?
LaValle's characters were about as real as fictional characters can possibly be. If they were any realer they would be walking around NYC wearing gaudy jewelry and dropping the "Killah" from their MC title.
This might just be me being naive but it seemed to me that LaValle went way out of his way to show the dark and ugly side of project living. I mean, WTF? Are you telling me that not all New Yorkers are as nice as Puffy and Rudy Giuliani seem to be on tv?
It was educational though. I now know, thanks to LaValle, that if I ever decide to approach a lady of the night in a dark alleyway, that I better have some protection on me. Sometimes, the best way to avoid these sort of things is to learn from a fictional character's mistake. Hey, better him than me, right?
August 24, 2008
There were definitely enjoyable parts of this book and I enjoyed the writing style of the author. But when the book ended, I felt like it was really disconnected. Nothing really brought it together for me.
December 1, 2012
A fine collection.
December 13, 2015
Razor sharp city stories, with characters who speak straight from, and to, the heart. LaValle is a literary stylist of the 1st order.
April 18, 2018
sooooooo good .
March 1, 2020
Hard to follow who was narrating each chapter. Also, hard to know when narration changed to dialogue, since no quotation marks were ever used.
February 10, 2021
Writer of the critically-acclaimed novels, BIG MACHINE and THE CHANGELING, Victor LaValle's first publication, dated 1999, is a literary fiction short-story collection titled, SLAPBOXING WITH JESUS; it is a powerful and moving collection of twelve stories, featuring a diverse cast of youngsters, who are learning how to navigate their chaotic environment and adolescence in 1980s, Queens, N.Y.
And whether it is seeking out a crackhead prostitute (story, "class trip") or dreaming about saving the world and cheating on your girlfriend (story, "raw daddy"), or becoming reacquainted with your pops (story, "pops") or having a full-on mental breakdown (story, "ghost story"), you will find fleshed out characters with flaws and vulnerabilities, yet who want to fit-in and be loved; they are funny and curious about the world, and are probably the biggest dreamers you will ever know.
What made me gravitate toward the book the most, kept me reading, were the characters and back-drops: these were kids I knew personally, or knew of, in my neighborhood and schools; and being a Queens native (represent!), these were places I roamed or were familiar with. And with fair warning, these stories are oftentimes funny and troubling, even heartbreaking, but will leave you, the reader, speechless and wanting more long after the story, or the book, is finished.
Here's a list of stories I really enjoyed:
- "pops"
- "slave"
- "ghost story"
- "class trip"
- "how I lost my inheritance"
- "kids on golden street"
And whether it is seeking out a crackhead prostitute (story, "class trip") or dreaming about saving the world and cheating on your girlfriend (story, "raw daddy"), or becoming reacquainted with your pops (story, "pops") or having a full-on mental breakdown (story, "ghost story"), you will find fleshed out characters with flaws and vulnerabilities, yet who want to fit-in and be loved; they are funny and curious about the world, and are probably the biggest dreamers you will ever know.
What made me gravitate toward the book the most, kept me reading, were the characters and back-drops: these were kids I knew personally, or knew of, in my neighborhood and schools; and being a Queens native (represent!), these were places I roamed or were familiar with. And with fair warning, these stories are oftentimes funny and troubling, even heartbreaking, but will leave you, the reader, speechless and wanting more long after the story, or the book, is finished.
Here's a list of stories I really enjoyed:
- "pops"
- "slave"
- "ghost story"
- "class trip"
- "how I lost my inheritance"
- "kids on golden street"
November 1, 2020
Picked this up after reading and loving The Changeling. This is a great collection, but like any, some will speak to you more than others. Some faves/highlighted lines:
getting ugly - "When you become an adult you accept what makes you wonderful and, if lucky, what falls short."
Trinidad - this was one of my favorites. I think it will break my heart no matter how often I read it. Also loved this, "Orpheus had called it a bitchy bike when we'd first witnessed it, but what he'd meant to say was, I wish it was mine."
pops - "My father was eating pizza across from me, sucking in cheese and smiling like we were family." Also, "His asking me was a reminder that some people live with the idea of getting beaten up instead of doing the beating."
Definitely worth a read. LaValle is a powerful writer and invites you into a space and proceeds to color in the nuance of the emotions that created it. There will definitely be a section of my bookshelf carved out for him.
getting ugly - "When you become an adult you accept what makes you wonderful and, if lucky, what falls short."
Trinidad - this was one of my favorites. I think it will break my heart no matter how often I read it. Also loved this, "Orpheus had called it a bitchy bike when we'd first witnessed it, but what he'd meant to say was, I wish it was mine."
pops - "My father was eating pizza across from me, sucking in cheese and smiling like we were family." Also, "His asking me was a reminder that some people live with the idea of getting beaten up instead of doing the beating."
Definitely worth a read. LaValle is a powerful writer and invites you into a space and proceeds to color in the nuance of the emotions that created it. There will definitely be a section of my bookshelf carved out for him.
December 27, 2019
While not nearly as strong as his novels or his two novellas, LaValle is essential reading and these interconnected tales of life are powerfully rendered. It would be easy to say there is an over-emphasis on the negative, the hyper-masculine, and the stereotypes of black culture. I would reply that there is a realism here, a harsh realism some people might want to ignore. Racism is alive and kicking, as is sexism, and classism. All of these horrors are hyper-realized in Black America. LaValle's mini-stories bring us snapshots of these problems, but also speak to the vibrancy and excesses of living that happen at the same time. There is hope here, along with violence and anger and frustration. So a bit like reality for too many, I'd say. LaValle's skills are on better display in his longer works, but there is more than enough joy and pain here to make tagging along worthwhile.
June 10, 2020
This collection of short stories was powerful and sometimes upsetting. They seemed in many ways autobiographical and give us snippets (almost but not quite anecdotal in nature) of the lives of boys and men living in Queens. It's a hard life and the ties between the characters seem easily breakable, as if their own and each others lives are cheap. But there's an honesty about the warts and all revelations that gripped me as a reader. I've read three of LaValle's novels and I enjoyed those more than this debut, but enjoy this collection I did.
June 6, 2023
Having had the pleasure of reading most of his prose in the last bit, it's been eye opening to read Victor Lavalle's earliest published work "SLAPBOXING WITH JESUS". It's about Black youth and young manhood in the late 80s/early 90s in NYC. It's got all the signs of the writer Lavalle will evolve into, with his wit and lyrical prose that walks the line between ivory towers and street level reality. It was 1999 and the dude was 80% there. He's only improved with time.
January 15, 2019
I'm a little conflicted. The writing is phenomenal, but the stories themselves aren't really stories, they are character sketches. It's very well done for what it is, but it's really not to my taste. I prefer more plot in my stories.
September 30, 2021
Complicated and emotional characters give you glimpses into their everyday life through sharp dialogue and solid setting. This text is action packed and worthy of flipping back through the pages to connect the dots of all the characters.
January 3, 2025
This book was trash. All the stories seemed unfinished and didn’t make sense at all. Most of the stories are not standalone because of how incomplete they are. Not a single story was memorable or entertaining. Towards the end, I just wanted the book to be over. Save your time and skip this one.
August 4, 2025
Trash. Just trash. Writing was atrocious. Hard to decipher writers intentions and stories lacked substance. Just things happening for the sake of it. Also excessive foul language. Also a complete lack of morals in character actions
January 26, 2018
Victor LaValle's early work.
In short, his talent is visible through nuances and hints of what's to come in latter novels.
Masterful as always!
In short, his talent is visible through nuances and hints of what's to come in latter novels.
Masterful as always!
March 27, 2018
really wanted to love this. ghost story was amazing but a lot of the others left me a little bored.
August 17, 2018
original voice, fantastic writing
May 5, 2019
Represent Queens
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews